


Morning mist

by Stulot



Category: robron
Genre: Coming Out, M/M, heart to heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-02
Updated: 2015-05-02
Packaged: 2018-03-28 18:22:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3865030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stulot/pseuds/Stulot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Robert has made the decision to leave Chrissie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Morning mist

With a coffee cup in his hand, Robert stood at the entrance to the Woolpack, his body leaning against the wall as he looked out at the village where the morning mist had yet to left the ground.

It was quiet and calm, apart from a few people leaving for work, yawns still lingering on their faces. Everything looked familiar, everything was the same as it always was but this morning it was yet so different. Nothing was the same anymore, and never would be, he thought and looked down at his coffee that had gone cold. He stared at the brown liquid, secretly hoping to foresee the future, as a fortune teller searches in tea leaves. But there were no answers to be found and it scared the hell out of him. Ever since he'd left Emmerdale he had had his whole life mapped out, always a goal in mind, not caring about what or who got in his way. It had turned him cold, he knew that. But despite that, Chrissie had loved him, and he had loved her. Or so he thought.

It was this place. It had slowly and steady started to crumble his cold exterior. If he had stayed away, maybe he could have avoided it all. All the grief that came with it. He hadn't meant to cause all of this. To inflict all the pain that he had. However, it was inevitable. He'd had to make a choice and he knew he'd made the right one. Diane had made that clear when he had spilled all his secrets, well nearly all, to her late last night in the backroom of the pub. He had been a nervous wreck, but she had been so supportive, amazing even, and she had insisted that he'd stop here.

This place. It had pulled him back, opened his eyes to the man he was and the man he could be and he had chosen to follow the latter.

"There you are" came a voice from behind and he turned to be met by the sight of Aaron in PJs and a dressing gown, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and looking way too perfect for 6AM. "I thought you'd done one".

Looking down at the mug again, Robert slightly shrugged his shoulders, "I just needed to think".

Aaron bit his lips, slowly nodding his head, not sure what to say. Last night had been a bit of a whirlwind and he hadn't fully caught up and managed to wrap his brain around to what was going on.

"Fancy thinking over a bit of brekkie?" Aaron asked, nodding back towards the kitchen. "No point in going back to bed now".

Robert smiled apologetically and followed Aaron inside. "I'm sorry. I should have stayed in your room last night. It just felt a bit weird for some reason".

Aaron quickly shook his head and dug his hands deep into his pockets and avoided to look at Robert, afraid he'd reveal his disappointment. "It's fine" he claimed, even though he wish he had. They finally had the chance to be together and Robert had avoided him. Ok yes, he could understand how it all could feel weird for him but it wasn't like he expected them to have sex or anything. He just wanted to have him close.

Robert grabbed his arm, making him stop and turn around. "No, look" he pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's not fine. What I've done, I did it for us. You and I, that's what I want. What I need" he said, gripping both of Aaron's arms. "Don't even think otherwise." He paused, frowning. "Yesterday was just a big mess and my head was all over the place. Well, it still is a bit to be honest. I just had to be alone. Besides, I'd probably had kicked more in my sleep than usual" he said with a smile to lighten the mood. The smile grew wider as Aaron returned the expression.

"Ok" Aaron's eyes sparkled as all of it suddenly started sinking in. Robert, finally standing here, having chosen him. Him, a poor scrapper over a fancy life at the mansion. He wasn't her Robert anymore, he was his. There were so many questions he wanted to ask but he didn't want to scare him off or have him freak out. Right now, they could wait. Right now he would revel in the feel of sharing breakfast with Robert in his home.

"Come on then" Robert absently and quickly let his fingers run through the strands of hair at Aaron's neck before giving it a light squeeze. "What's there to eat?" He couldn't even remember the last time he'd eaten. Breakfast yesterday morning?

Robert took the lead into the backroom and quickly sought out the bag of toast. "Want one?" he asked.

"Thanks. I'll put the kettle on" Aaron looked as Robert put the bread in the toaster. "Shouldn't you eat more though?" He turned on the water. "You didn't have anything last night".

Robert leaned back against the counter. "Checking up on me are we?" he teased with a smile.

"Just wanna make sure you're alright, don't I" Aaron said shyly, looking away.

"I'll have an apple" Robert chuckled quietly, secretly enjoying Aaron's watchful eyes.

Aaron snorted a laugh and a silence fell upon them as they both stood against the counter, opposite of each other, finally meeting each other's gaze. Deep, honest, trusting eyes.

Robert was the one to break the eye contact first, suddenly staring into the wall, jaw clenches turning into chin shivers. Turning back to face Aaron, he could feel tears burning behind his eyes. "I'm a bit scared" he quietly admitted. He looked away again, this time to the floor. "I don't like that" he explained, tone stern and small.

"It'll be fine" Aaron nodded his head vigorously before pulling the taller man in for a hug, his head resting in the crock of his neck and his hands at his shoulder blades. It was warm and safe and if they could keep that feeling between them he knew they'd be shielded from the storm that was knocking. "We'll be fine".

Aaron pulled away, capturing Robert's face with his hands. "Besides, I'm pretty sure Vic will eventually love you more for this".

Robert couldn't help but laugh at that. His sister did seem to have a taste for gay people. "Even if I'm just bi?" he tried joking back. It was the second time he'd admitted it out loud and the words sounded slightly more comfortable than last night as he'd said them to Diane.

But it was the first time Aaron had heard them and he was now pressing affectionate lips on to his.

There was a sound of a door opening and the men jumped apart, quickly returning to their breakfast preparation.

"What are you doing up this early?" Vic asked as she noticed she wasn't alone in the kitchen. She was always the first one to arrive. "And what are you doing here?" she asked when she discovered it was in fact her brother who stood before her.

"Erhm" he swallowed and shot Aaron a quick, desperate look. He might as well get it over with he thought, looking back to Victoria who was tying her apron. "I've left Chrissie" The words fell quickly out of his mouth.

Vic halted her motions from shock. "What for?! What have you done now?!" she yelled a little too loud.

He wanted to shout back that he hadn't done anything, but that wasn't really true. All he had done was fallen out and in of love. Why was that so wrong? Instead he settled for a simpler explanation "I don't love her like I should".

Vic's face turned into deep frowns. "What's wrong with you, you haven't even been married a year! Maybe should have thought about that before marrying her!"

"Vic, go easy" Aaron jumped in to defend Robert, even though he knew he shouldn't. This was something he had to do on his own.

Vic gave him an odd look, but quickly returned her attention to her brother, arms folded and one brow cocked. "Well?" she pushed but her voice calmed as she saw the pain filtering through Robert's face. "What's wrong?", concern leaking through her voice.

Robert shrugged his shoulders. "It just wasn't right. We were never right" he casually tried downplaying it.

Vic narrowed her eyes. "Uh-huh" she kept staring at him but when no more explanation came she went back to pushing. "Wanna tell me what's really going on? Or can't you say it in front of him" she nodded at Aaron.

"No, it's not because of him" Well, that wasn't exactly true, he thought to himself. He wiped a hand across his face, looking to the ceiling, he just had to say it. It would all be out sooner or later. "I...I'm...we...uhm..."

"For God's sake Rob, spit it out, I've got spuds to peel" she pointed over her shoulder towards the kitchen.

"Just keep it to yourself for now yeah" he asked her.

By now, Aaron's heart was beating fast and he could only imagine the speed Robert's must be going at. He badly wanted to reach out and put a comforting hand on him, reassure him that he had him, but as he didn't know what he was going to say, he couldn't. Turned out though, he didn't have to as Robert was the one to reach out and search for his hand. The action caught him off guard and by a reflex he quickly pulled it away, hoping Vic hadn't seen it.

Calmly, Robert smiled at him and determinedly reached out his hand again, this time waiting for Aaron to take it, which he did, but not without a shy look and lip biting, something Robert found insanely cute.

Robert looked at Victoria and simply gave her a smile and an innocent shrug of the shoulders.

"Oh. my. god." Vic exclaimed slowly as she sat down at the table in shock, spuds long forgotten. "How long? Have you been cheating again? So you're gay now? How..."

Aaron let go of Robert's hand, instead reaching for the two cups of tea he'd prepared and gave them to Robert which he gratefully accepted and placed one in front of his sister as he joined her at the table.

"I have been cheating on Chrissie yeah. I'm not exactly proud of it. But no, I'm not gay, I'm bi" he calmly explained and let the unfamiliar words fall out for the third time.

"Yeah course, sorry" Vic answered. "Why have you never said anything about it though?"

"The cheating or the bi thing?" Robert tried joking and Vic smiled at him. "It wasn't really something I explored on when I lived here and when I came back, well I was with Chrissie wasn't I?" he smiled sadly.

Vic took a sip of her tea, thoughts jumping around in her head as ping-pong balls. "I don't like you cheating again Rob" she said and looked at him with an expression of disappointment. "You can't keep doing that".

Aaron wanted to hug and kiss his friend for saying it out loud, for reprimanding her brother. No matter how much he loved him, there was still a part of him that feared history would repeat itself.

Robert quickly shook his head. "I won't" He was sure of it but he certainly knew others wouldn't be as easy to convince, especially Aaron. He looked over at him and even though it felt awkward saying it in front of his sister this was probably the best moment. "I won't cheat again because I've never felt like this before" he said. Looking into Aaron's eyes he could see the smile playing behind his boyfriend's lips. He turned back to Vic. "I'm not gonna be that person anymore" he said very seriously.

Once again, Vic sat in shock of the honesty from her brother. She bit her tongue to keep herself from asking what planet he came from and what had he done with her brother. But what if this was actually him turning that corner they all had been hoping and praying for for so long. Slowly, she nodded. "Ok... I believe ya". There was a short pause before Vic turned her head to Aaron and broke the silence "I'm mad at you too you know! You can't get together with married men! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Aaron just gaped in return, not sure what he could say to that. She was right and nothing he would say could change that.

"So does anyone else know?" She took another sip of the tea.

"Just my mum and Paddy" Aaron felt the need to answer that one. "It's been complicated" he added as he saw Vic's surprise, a hint of sadness to his voice.

"And I told Diane last night. But no one else knows. You can't tell anyone" Robert quickly added. "I need to do it on my own you know"

"Yeah, course" Vic assured him before the wheels in her head started spinning again. "Wait. So, Chrissie doesn't know?"

Robert looked down at his hands, fiddling with the wedding band that was still on his finger. "She knows about me not loving her anymore, she doesn't know about Aaron" He took a deep, long breathe. "I'm gonna go up there and tell her today. Pack my bags. If she hasn't burnt my stuff already" he smiled sadly.

Vic looked at her brother, it had been a long time since she had seen him like this...tired...exposed...vulnerable. And when she had, it was never in the presence of someone else. He always put up a front, so much so you were easily fooled that it was the real him and that front always came with such confidence it was easy to believe that Robert Sugden was invincible. Even she forgot the real side of him sometimes, and these days it was easy, as it was hidden under a layer of fast cars and expensive suits. She shot Aaron a glance and wondered how much he knew about her brother. Had he seen all his sides? Had he seen sides she hadn't? She didn't even know he was bi so what else didn't she know? Was Aaron the only one who knew her brother at all?  
"Right.." She sat up straight in the chair, ready to move as she had to stop herself from coming up with more questions. "...I guess I better get started" she bit her lip. "You'll be alright though won't ya? I could take the day off if you want, help you out. Have Marlon cov..."

"Vic, I'm fine" Robert cut her off with a smile. "Go make some mash or whatever it is you're doing."

"Don't let Marlon hear you say that, it's called Aligot" she said mockingly, and rose to her feet.

"That's French" Aaron chipped in and caused the siblings to turn their attention to him. "What?" he shook his head. "Had it when I lived there didn't I".

"Ooo look at you Mr. Fancy" Vic teased, eliciting an eye roll from Aaron on which she quickly pulled a face in return before the attention was back to Robert. "Right...should we..hug?" she asked carefully.

"Come here" Robert pulled her in. "Thanks Vic" he whispered into her hair before breaking the hug. "I appreciate it".

"No more secrets" she said.

"No more, promise" his smiled widened, trying to hide the pain from the real truth.

"Right, see you later."

As soon as the door closed behind Victoria, Robert's smile disappeared and he drew a deep sigh before turning to Aaron. "Two down, 500 to go" he stared at him. "Fuck, I'm shaking" he said and held up his hand in front of him. He had been last night too, when he'd told Diane, but telling his sister was even more nerve wrecking and adrenaline was now pumping through his body.

Aaron smiled and gently pushed away the hand and wrapped him up in a tight hug. "I'm proud of ya. I'm really really proud" he whispered, feeling the warm body shiver in his arms.

The words cut straight to Robert's heart and within a second, tears came streaming down his face, from pent-up stress, from relief and from hearing that someone was actually proud of him. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd heard it. He tightened his grip around Aaron and couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of how many times he'd hugged this morning. Probably more than he had in the last six months combined. He needed the strength they gave him though if he was going to make it through this day.

Robert shook his head clear and wiped away the tears. "Oh man". Feelings were bombarding him from all directions and his head was a mess. "Can't believe I just told her that" he laughed.

...

After breakfast and after getting dressed, Robert closed the door to the Woolpack behind them. He'd decided to follow Aaron to the scrapyard, the walk would do him good, clear his head before he would drive back home and speak to Chrissie. It wasn't really home anymore though. How quickly things could change he thought, not with sadness in his mind, but with hope.

"So, you gonna tell Adam now then?" Robert asked as they slowly walked next to each other through the village. "I can stay if you want."

"Nah, I can handle Adam" Aaron said, but in reality he had no idea what his reaction would be. It wasn't so much the truth about them he worried about, but more about the reason behind the investment and his reaction to that.

Robert slowly nodded his response.

"What about you then?" Aaron asked.

"What about me?"

"Want some help packing?"

"Lawrence would probably try and deck ya"

"Then I'd just have to return the favour won't I?"

Robert couldn't help but laugh at his fiercely protective boyfriend. 'Boyfriend'. He admitted it was a little awkward thinking about the word only a day after his marriage had ended but it wasn't like he hadn't thought of it before. Many times even.

Walking side by side with Aaron there was almost something liberating in the air around them and for each step he took the mist got thinner and thinner, the air easier to breathe. He looked at the man next to him and there was a quick jolt in his stomach that suddenly made him feel surprisingly giddy. Like a new world had opened up, that endless opportunities were at the tip of his fingers.

Aaron caught Robert staring. "What?"

"Thank you" Robert said quietly with a smile that made his eyes shine.

Aaron furrowed his brows. "What for?" he chuckled at a beaming Robert.

"For being you" he said and draped an arm across Aaron's shoulders. Pulling Aaron's head closer with his hand, he gave him a kiss where hair met face, not giving a damn who saw him. "I love you" he whispered.

 

In a different door opening and with a different coffee cup in his hand, stood Paddy, catching a wide smile cross Aaron's lips as he snaked an arm around Robert's waist. Paddy smiled into his cup and looked away before they would catch him watching them.

Like so many other mornings, he found himself admiring the beautiful fields beyond the cricket pavilion. The last of the morning mist seemed to have lifted from the ground, leaving a refreshing dew in its tail, making all the green glisten, and it looked like a sunny day was waiting for them.


End file.
